Writing on a napkin

In 1964 I visited a small gallery in Woodstock with my friends, Sam and Eric. Very near to it was a restaurant where we went to eat. A man came up to our table. He was very fat and he was heavily drunk. His name was Rudy and he had been Dulal’s sister’s guru. My sponsor introduced me to Rudy and we shook hands. As soon as he shook my hand, it began burning because everything entered into me. Then I had to go and wash my hand. Anyway, life is but an experience!

My friends and I sat down to eat and a sudden wave of inspiration flashed across my mind. I asked the waiter if I could borrow a pencil or ballpoint pen. None of us had a piece of paper, so I started writing on the paper napkin. I wrote two poems: “Father, I Am” and “Father, You Are the Child of Your Dream.” Those two immortal poems appear in My Flute.

Rudy had an antique shop in New York that contained many beautiful statues of the Lord Buddha. He was a great admirer of Lord Buddha. Samie had a statue of the Lord Buddha in his apartment that was absolutely living. He had bought it at Rudy’s place. I wanted to go and see the shop, but I hoped that the owner would not be there. One day I did go and luckily the owner was not available. I appreciated some of his statues very much.